Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Crystal Haze are mostly shrouded in mystery, however it is known that the band sprang from the Decatur, Illinois sometime in 1975. Basically comprised of high school friends, Crystal Haze tracked their sole album mostly live in the studio with vocal duties being split between the two guitarists, Greg Bickers and Dave Ellis. After a rather slipshod attempt at mixing, the album was pressed as is in extremely limited numbers. It is rumored that only 100 copies were ever pressed. Since the rather low-key release of their debut album, very little has ever been heard of Crystal Haze though it is believed the band continued to gig around the area for another year before dissolving. The band's post-split activities are murky, though Bickers is now fronting local band, The Hitmen in his hometown.

"Crystal Haze" is certainly one of the most elusive mid-70's recordings in existence, fetching insane prices in collector's circles. From a rarity perspective, I can certainly understand the fervor often raised by this album, given how rarely it ever surfaces. What about the music though? Well, let me just say that the fretwork is fantastic. Excellent guitar tones & fiery performances abound here. Overall, the musicianship is pretty solid considering how young the players were at the time. There's some cool dual guitar work here and there as well, which elevates the intensity another notch. Standouts include the opening instrumental, "Flame" as well as two of the mellower tracks, "In The Night" and "Goodnight".

If you are a sucker for homegrown lo-fi 70's rock, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by "Crystal Haze". Tough to peg and elusive as the Dodo, this album's legend is at least somewhat justified. Dig it...

Once again, thank you for another great find. This is excellent! A real crime that these guys never really had a shot at the big time; they could have been contenders! You're doing these acts a great service here. Keep it up!

Wow, this is cool. I was 17 when this was recorded. I joined the first generation Crystal Haze when I was 15. Original Line upDirk Tucker, G, VGreg Bickers, G, VRick Beaman, DBob Prust, B

Dave Ellis joined after Dirk Tucker left, so did Mike Stevens (d). I chose to attend college after the 100 copy run was pressed. I ran into Mike during a sales call in So Illinois in 1995. Neither of us had played in years. Thanks to good friend and fellow bassist Slim McGarvey, I have picked up his old folk bass and pluck around still at 50 years old........Rock onBob Prust, Crystal Haze bassist 1975-78.

I literally go hunting in their tour bus every year. Its been sitting on my uncles property since the early 90's. Not sure how he got it, but I can probably get you some bumper stickers they left in the thing.

Hey Thanks for posting this review of our first album. This is an album of songs that I composed from 1976-77. It never really took off well except on radio in the Midwest in '77, until it resurfaced in Baltimore Maryland in 1989, and was "rediscovered" and began fetching the truly insane high prices for an Indie album. And then it has been bootlegged all over the world. The end result of which is that we have people still listening to us and following it. We thank all of you who enjoy our music. The Original Crystal Haze Band has continued on, in various formats over the years. I must state that we are not the Sean Miller's Crystal Haze from Mesa Az. They came along much later. We did a 2nd album in '79 and are remastering it for future issue. We continue to write and record. Please visit our album site at http://crystalhazealbum.tripod.com and our fan site at www.crystalhazeband.webs.com Thanks, Dave Ellis Lead Guitarist, Vocalist, and keyboardist of the Original Crystal Haze Band (from 1977to present day)

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